In late 1935 this Heinrich Hoffmann photo of
Hitler first appeared.(15) The image was
mass produced throughout Germany and portrayed Hitler in cool
tones and a rigid pose. His right hand is placed on his hip,
compositionally cut off at the elbow, while his left hand is
strategically placed on a chair support. The overall composition
would be more influenced by the Baroque parallelogram than the
Renaissance triangle. uversus
Í.Draped in a non-descript background, Hitler coldly stares
outward recalling the Westeker statement, "The hard eye
of the Commander is like lightning or the flash from a bullet
shot"(16) Hitler so approved of this
image that it became the frontpiece for several of the yearly
catalogs for the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung including
the 1937 opening exhibit. This signed image is one of these frontpieces
for the heading reads Der Schirmherr des Hauses der Deutschen
Kunst, The Patron of the House of German Art. With this "stamp
of approval," Hoffmann's influence on Heinrich Knirr is
seen for the first time for in 1935-1936 he completed the following
two images.(17)

Hitler's acceptance of Hoffman's imagery became
an artistic shield for Knirr. Down to the smallest folds in the
coat he has faithfully recreated the Hoffmann image. Only the
outward palette has been altered to offer a seemingly "different"
painting. Paintings from photographs always produce a flattened
image, for the artist is painting from a two-dimensional object
rather than a three-dimensional form. The acceptance of Hoffmann's
image would have created an instant market for Knirr and his
instincts may have been as much in this direction as they were
in the choice of the safe road.

It has been recorded that Knirr was the only
artist ever to paint Hitler from life. Dietrich states, "It
is no accident that all but one of the portraits of Hitler were
copied from photographs. He sat for a portrait to only one painter,
Professor Knirr, who came and stayed at Berchtesgaden for that
purpose."(18) Berchtesgaden was a
small town one-hundred miles from Munich where Hitler located
his mountain-top Berghof retreat. I believe the below painting
is the sole portrait from life of Adolf Hitler. The portrait
may have been painted in the Berghof's dining room which was
paneled in natural wood.(19) (20) Hitler
appears more relaxed and life-like in contrast to the rigidity
of the Hoffmann re-creations. The composition displays a painterly
intent with the red roses on the left balanced by the green chair
on the right.

In 1937 Knirr received the ultimate honor. The
opening of the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung occurred
on July 18 and Knirr's portrait of Hitler was chosen as the official
portrait of the Führer.(21)
Knirr's connection with Hoffmann, who juried the exhibit, and
his personal relationship with Hitler certainly would have influenced
this decision. Knirr's prestige at the event must have been considerable.
The official portrait hung in Gallery 13 while two other images
of Hitler by Knirr hung in Gallery 1.(22) The
official portrait carried the subtitle: Adolf Hitler, der
Schöpfer des Dritten Reiches und Erneuerer der deutschen
Kunst," Hitler, the Creator of the Third Reich and Renewer
of German Art. The author is not aware of the current location
of this painting.

The portrait almost appears to be a mirror image
of the 1935-1936 versions. Instead of his right hand on his hip
it is his left. Similarly, instead of his left hand on a chair,
it is his right. The earlier non-descript background now gives
way to a formula sky. The small stream on the left clearly implies
Hitler as the well-spring of life to both German art and the
Reich. The portrait though carries the same stiffness and rigidity
as seen in the earlier works after Hoffmann's photo. The hardened
figure seems pasted against an artificial backdrop. While a photo
original may not have survived the war, a second version of the
painting, given Knirr's history, strongly suggests that both
paintings were based on an earlier prototype.

While the official portrait hung in the museum,
Knirr must have received requests for others. A second version,
pictured below, corresponds to the "original" in both
form and dress.(23) There is a mixture
of changes and similarities though. Hitler is seen out of doors
instead of on a balcony. His right hand is now supported by a
rocky ledge instead of a chair but the drawing remains the same.
This is also true for the left hand. Even the folds in the cloth
remain consistent. The nondescript sky has been replaced with
another nondescript sky. The foliage is similar although the
upper right tree has been removed allowing the portrait to be
more of a focal point. The Black Wound Badge is lighter in tone
in the original.(24) The portraits themselves
are slightly different but the overall effect is the same. The
changes could easily have been the request of the patron.

The lower left image is a view of the interior
of the Waiting Room from the German Embassy in London.(25)
The centerpiece of the room appears to be one of the above
paintings. Using photo imaging techniques, the lower right image
has been produced to delineate the painting and soften the distortions.
The dark versus the lighter Wound Badge and the lack of a balcony
line clearly defines the painting as the second version. A black
and white comparison of the left horizon also identifies the
painting as the second version due to the sharp > shaped lower
tree line.(26)

(17) While these paintings are
reproduced many times, the author is not aware of the current
location of the second version. The image of the 1935 painting
appeared for the first time in an April 1936 issue of the Illustrierter
Beobachter, the Nazi weekly illustrated
magazine. This was a commemorative issue for Hitler's April 20th
birthday. The author thanks Professor Randy Bytwerk from Calvin
College, Grand Rapids, Michigan for his assistance with these
details and for allowing the author to view an original print
of the 1935 version.

(18) Dietrich. Ibid. p. 192.

(19) Image reproduced through
the courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Army, Army Art
Collection. Washington, D.C.

(22) Ibid. The two paintings
from Gallery No.1 are Inventory Nos. 398 and 398a from the above
Katalog. Only select pieces from the exhibit were pictured
in the catalog. The author has not been able to locate images
of these two paintings. The current House of German Art, the
Bavarian State Archives and the Berlin City Museum were also
not able to provide photographic pictures of Gallery No.1. In
a 1939 Hoffmann catalog of "Official Portraits of Adolf
Hitler and the Leaders of the Third Reich" the same inventory
number is used followed by an "a" or "b"
to note the same image in a different size. It may be that Inventory
No. 398 was a print of the Official Portrait and No. 398a was
the same image in a smaller or larger size or framed. It seems
curious that the "Official Portrait" was relegated
to Gallery 13 while these images were in Gallery 1. Hoffmann
was the consummate businessman and it would have been in keeping
with his personality to sell his prints at the exhibit. He also
would have been the only person who could have displayed these
items in Gallery 1. (In an e-mail dated June 15, 2007, Mr. Ulrike
Smalley, Curator, Department of Art, Imperial War Museum, London
offered the following: "...the room numbers do not indicate
the importance of a room: both room 1 and room 13 were off the
main entry hall and equally important. I got this information
from Dr. Czech curator of the Art and Propaganda exhibition in
Berlin."

(23) Image courtesy of the Imperial
War Museum. London, England.

(24) The Gold Wound Badge was
awarded for more than 5 wounds or severe wounds that permanently
injured or disfigured the recipient. Hitler always wore his Black
War Wound Badge and it isn't possible that Knirr implied a Gold
Badge in the first version. Hitler was awarded the Black Wound
Badge for receiving less than three wounds. This information
was provided through the courtesy of www.thirdreich.ca

(26) The patron for the London
painting may very well have been Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's
Ambassador to Britain, who was appointed to that position in
August of 1936 (Shirer. Ibid. p. 298.) He remained in that position
until February of 1938 when he was appointed the Minister of
Foreign Affairs.(Ibid. p. 319.) It may be that Frau Ribbentrop
commissioned the painting for Hoffmann. (Ibid.) states: "Frau
Ribbentrop, a lady of impeccable artistic taste and knowledge,
made a most valuable contribution, and thanks to her exertions
an almost unique collection of German works of art was gathered
together and exhibited at the Embassy." p. 80.